<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Hundred Hellos by beautifulterriblequeen</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22531177">A Hundred Hellos</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulterriblequeen/pseuds/beautifulterriblequeen'>beautifulterriblequeen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>About 15 Years of Runaan x Ethari, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassins collective, Canon Divergence - Runaan raised Rayla from infancy, Canon Divergence - assassins can't marry, Canon Divergence - not really Silvergrove, Canon Divergence - pre-S3, Eclipse shenanigans, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, First Kiss, First Meeting, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Moonshadow rituals, Pining, Rollercoaster Relationship, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Young Rayla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:28:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22531177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulterriblequeen/pseuds/beautifulterriblequeen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A hundred snapshots of Runaan and Ethari meeting, falling in love, and searching for true happiness.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>179</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Hundred Hellos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been working on this since before S3 dropped, so some of the basic premises aren't canon. Here, assassins live in a compound together in town. They're all orphans raised by the other assassins, and they're forbidden to fall in love so they can focus entirely on their work. But then Runaan meets Ethari.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>Ethari looked up at the soft voice that spoke from across the shop. “Hello. Come on over. What can I help you with?”</p><p>The tall elf glided across to the counter. His eyes were molten turquoise, and his jaw was steel. “I need a sword.”</p><p>Ethari grinned. “Then you’ve come to the right place.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>2.</p><p>“Hello. Is it ready?”</p><p>Ethari jumped at the sound of Runaan’s voice near his ear. He hadn’t heard the assassin approach. But then, it was part of his job not to be heard.</p><p>“Not yet. But I can show you my progress.”</p><p>“Please.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>3.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Runaan, are you practicing sneaking up on me?”</p><p>“Maybe. Is it ready yet?”</p><p>“Usually people wait until I send them a message that their commission is complete.”</p><p>Runaan studied Ethari seriously. “What makes you think I’m people?”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>4.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>Runaan studied the sword Ethari offered atop his palms. A soft smile graced his lips, and he reached out instinctively to claim it. “It’s beautiful.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>5.</p><p>“Hello.” Runaan’s voice was rough today. His eyes wandered, distracted.</p><p>“Problem with the sword?”</p><p>“I broke it.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? Are you all right?”</p><p>“Of course I’m all right. Except I’m short one sword.”</p><p>“You want me to make you another exactly like the first one?”</p><p>“Maybe less prone to breaking.”</p><p>Ethari frowned. “How did you break it?”</p><p>“I jammed it into a rock wall and tried to ride it down to the bottom.”</p><p>Ethari’s sigh was meant to be heard, but Runaan seemed oblivious. “I’ll make you a hook blade.”</p><p>“I want a sword.”</p><p>“I’ll make you the sword, too. Try not to break this one.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>6.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me.”</p><p>A smile twitched in the corner of Runaan’s mouth. “The sword is fine.”</p><p>Ethari’s shoulders slumped in relief. “How can I help you, then?”</p><p>“Throwing daggers.”</p><p>“Sure, I can do that.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>7.</p><p>“Hello again.”</p><p>“Runaan.”</p><p>The assassin rocked onto his toes. “Do you make bows?”</p><p>“I do.”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>8.</p><p>“Hello. I’m not bothering you, am I?”</p><p>Ethari smiled down at his favorite customer. “You never bother me.”</p><p>“I’ll endeavor to keep it that way. I need another pair of throwing daggers.”</p><p>Ethari blinked, jaded. “What happened to the last pair I made you?”</p><p>“They got lost.”</p><p>“Lost?”</p><p>Runaan nodded. “Inside a cave serpent.”</p><p>Ethari smiled and shook his head. “Two more throwing daggers, coming up.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>9.</p><p>“Hello!”</p><p>“Ethari. Hi. Do you shop this market, too? I’ve never seen you here before. I’ve never seen you out of your shop at all.”</p><p>Runaan seemed taller in the market as he loomed over some plums and studied them for flaws. More at ease, too. Maybe it was his casual attire. “I’m picking up something special for my mother,” Ethari said.</p><p>Runaan looked down at the plum in his hand. “Of course. I won’t keep you.”</p><p>Only after the assassin had vanished into the crowd did Ethari understand.</p><p>Runaan didn’t have parents.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>10.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari’s relief at hearing his voice after so long faded at the sight of a discreet, dark bandage around the very base of Runaan’s left horn. “What can I get for you today, Runaan?”</p><p>Runaan’s hands fiddled, embarrassed. “The physician at the collective recommended that I protect my horns from any further direct strikes. Something-something ‘potential for fatal hemorrhage’? I wasn’t really listening. I’m working with my trainers on preventative fighting techniques, but I want something protective, too. I see you also make horn jewelry for couples. Can you make horn armor… that doesn’t <em>look</em> like horn armor?”</p><p>“You’re married to the job, hmm?” Ethari grinned wryly. “I’d love to make you some.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>11.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. Come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”</p><p>“Am I late?”</p><p>“No. I’m just excited. I don’t get much call for custom work.”</p><p>Runaan sat on the stool Ethari indicated. Ethari stepped up beside him and began fitting a reinforced horn cuff around Runaan’s right horn. But Ethari’s focus on getting the fitting just right was interrupted by Runaan’s tension.</p><p>“Is everything all right, Runaan? I’m not hurting you, am I?”</p><p>“No, I just— You’re very close.” Runaan’s cheeks pinked.</p><p>“Um. I can’t fit this unless I’m standing right here. Would you rather do this another day?”</p><p>“I… I just… No. I mean… Yes. I’m sorry—”</p><p>Runaan pulled the horn cuff off and pressed it into Ethari’s hand. He was out the door in four strides.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>12.</p><p>“Hello. I’d like to try again.”</p><p>Ethari lifted his chin. “Of course.”</p><p>Runaan scanned the empty shop. “Now?”</p><p>Ethari silently waved at the stool.</p><p>Runaan soberly took a seat. “I need to apologize.”</p><p>“You really don’t need to—”</p><p>“I think I bent the horn cuff when I pulled it off. I hope I didn’t damage your fine work. It looked beautiful.” Runaan looked up at him, more open than Ethari had ever seen him.</p><p>It was impossible not to forgive him. “Would you like to examine them first this time? I was too hasty before.”</p><p>Runaan held out an open hand. “Please. I love your work. I… may never have said so.”</p><p>Ethari smiled. “Every time you set foot in my shop, Runaan, you say so.”</p><p>Runaan’s smile was brilliant.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>13.</p><p>"Hello, Tink."</p><p>Ethari froze. “And here I’d convinced myself that you didn’t know my nickname.”</p><p>“Why would you convince yourself of that?”</p><p>“You’ve never used it before.”</p><p>“I wasn’t sure you actually liked it.”</p><p>Ethari smiled, amazed by the assassin’s subtle admission of concern. “I do like it.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>14.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“We meet again. Shopping for your mother?”</p><p>“Not today. You?”</p><p>“I have a list. It’s not my list, though.”</p><p>“Can I walk with you? Maybe I’ll see something I like.”</p><p>“You’re very welcome to.”</p><p>But Ethari already saw something he liked.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>15.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Runaan, why do you have red in your hair? Are you <em>bleeding</em>?”</p><p>“Probably. But that’s not why I’m here.”</p><p>“Good. My medical skills are for shite.”</p><p>Runaan burst out laughing and then winced. “Please, stop being funny.”</p><p>Chastened, Ethari hurried forward. “What do you need?”</p><p>Runaan pointed to his right horn cuff. “Can you pound out this dent?”</p><p>Ethari’s expression flattened. “If I do, will it knock some sense into you? I’m walking you back to the assassin compound. You need a physician.”</p><p>“That’s really not necessary,” Runaan began, before he promptly threw up all over Ethari’s floor.</p><p>Ethari groaned and took Runaan by the arm. “And there’s the head trauma. Let’s go.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>16.</p><p>“Hello. I’m sorry about the mess I made on your floor.”</p><p>“How’s your head?”</p><p>“Better. Thank you. You didn’t need to haul me back—”</p><p>“Of course I did.” Belatedly, Ethari realized he’d interrupted an assassin. One who was now staring. “Your training is important, and you can’t train if you’re dead in my shop.”</p><p>“You’d be surprised.”</p><p>“Even you’re not that good.”</p><p>Runaan’s voice went soft. “You think I’m good?”</p><p>Ethari’s voice matched his. “You must be.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>17.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Runaan, hi.”</p><p>“Would you like to see me train?”</p><p>“The assassin compound is off limits to civilians.”</p><p>“But the forest isn’t off limits to anyone.”</p><p>Ethari grinned. “Let me grab a sketchbook. And some lunch.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>18.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. I couldn’t wait to—”</p><p>“Ethari, what are you doing here? Walk with me toward your shop.”</p><p>Ethari fell in beside him. “Should I not have waited at the compound gate?”</p><p>“It’s fine.”</p><p>“I can tell it’s not. You’re frowning.”</p><p>“I said it’s fine.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>19.</p><p>“Hello. I’m not following you, I swear.”</p><p>“I know, Ethari. I spotted you an hour ago.”</p><p>“Oh.” Ethari twisted his boot toe against the lakeside path. “Why haven’t you come by lately? You haven’t found yourself another craftsman, have you?” Ethari’s hopeful grin flared, then faltered.</p><p>“It’s… complicated.”</p><p>“We’re Moonshadows, Runaan. Everything’s complicated.”</p><p>But Runaan only nodded.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>20.</p><p>“Hello… I’m not intruding, am I?”</p><p>“I was meditating.”</p><p>“But you’re done now?”</p><p>Runaan sighed atop the rock in the forest glen. “Apparently.”</p><p>“Runaan, please help me understand. I don’t want to chase you away.”</p><p>“It was a mistake, asking you into the forest with me. It won’t happen again.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart dropped.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>21.</p><p>“Hello… I know it’s been a while…”</p><p>Ethari’s head jerked up. “Runaan! It’s good to see you. How can I help you today?”</p><p>The assassin fidgeted. He never fidgeted. “I don’t know who else to ask.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart pounded. “You can always ask me anything you like.”</p><p>“That’s good to know. Thank you. I’m just not sure if it’s your area.”</p><p>“There’s only one way to find out.”</p><p>The assassin drew a deep breath. “Have you ever made a baby rattle before?”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>22.</p><p>“Hello. It’s not too late, is it?”</p><p>“That depends on how you mean it,” Ethari replied as he pulled his shop door shut.</p><p>“I… thought you might like to meet Rayla. She can’t sleep. I thought the night air might help.” Runaan turned and shifted a dark bundle in his arms, revealing a white puff of hair under a blanket. A pair of wide violet eyes stared up at Ethari curiously.</p><p>Ethari was immediately entranced. “Hello, Rayla.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>23.</p><p>“Hello again.”</p><p>“Rayla can’t sleep again, huh?”</p><p>“She likes you. She sleeps easily after these night walks.”</p><p>Ethari booped Rayla’s little nose, and she giggled, grabbing at his finger. “I’m glad to know I have such a calming effect. Do I put you to sleep too, Runaan?”</p><p>The assassin’s eyes glowed in the night. “Not exactly.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>24.</p><p>“Hello. No Rayla?”</p><p>“She’s napping in the crèche. What are you shopping for today?”</p><p>“Moonberry surprise.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyebrows rose. “What’s that?”</p><p>Ethari grinned. “That’s the best part. It can be whatever you want it to be, as long as it has moonberries in it.”</p><p>Runaan gave him an impressed nod and smiled. “I’ll remember that one. Rayla’s first birthday is coming up.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>25.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.”</p><p>“Runaan. Is everything all right? You haven’t been by the shop in ages.”</p><p>“I’m heading out on a mission next full Moon.”</p><p>Ethari smiled in congratulations. “You’ve been cleared for missions. I expected no less.”</p><p>A smile flitted across Runaan’s face. “It’s my first. And I need your help.”</p><p>“Mine?”</p><p>Runaan hefted a long slender bag off his shoulder. “You’re the only craftsman I trust with my weapons. And you made all of these. Would you give them a good sharpening for me?”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened, but his hands reached out. “You trust me that much?”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes sparked with guilt, but he nodded.</p><p>Ethari’s smile was incandescent.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>26.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari’s ears perked. “You’re back! Was your mission successful?”</p><p>Runaan nodded tiredly.</p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Do you want to bring Rayla out late tonight and <em>not</em> talk about it?”</p><p>Runaan’s brows twitched. His hands fidgeted. “…Maybe.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes lingered, troubled. “Good. I’ll see you then.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>27.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. The nights are starting to get pretty cold. Are you sure you want to keep walking late like this?”</p><p>Runaan shifted his bundled charge. “Rayla’s all wrapped up. And the sound of your voice still puts her to sleep.”</p><p>“Then wild Moonstriders couldn’t get me to shut up.”</p><p>Runaan’s smile was soft in the dark.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>28.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Happy Winter’s Turn, Ethari. How do you like the snow?”</p><p>“It looks pretty on your horns,” Ethari blurted. His cheeks pinked from more than the chilly winter air, and he looked away.</p><p>Runaan’s voice carried a smile. “I was about to get some tea from the carts. Would you like some?”</p><p>Ethari looked back at Runaan. “I love tea.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>29.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Runaan, what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the day.”</p><p>“I wanted to see you.”</p><p>Ethari smiled. “What can I do for you today?”</p><p>“Let’s have tea.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”</p><p>“While we discuss designs for a new bow. I’m sure you have ideas no one has asked you about.”</p><p>“I… well, yes, I do, but…”</p><p>“Well, I’m asking. Over tea.”</p><p>Ethari studied the assassin, intrigued. “Let me heat up the kettle.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>30.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. Let me get the kettle boiling.”</p><p>Runaan took off his rain-soaked cloak and hung it on the wall to dry. “That sounds perfect.”</p><p>“Perfect, huh? My tea-making skills must be improving. What designs are we discussing today?”</p><p>“Arrowheads with more poison retention.”</p><p>Ethari paused on the way to the kettle. “You didn’t bring any poison samples with you, did you?”</p><p>“I didn’t think to. Should I next time?”</p><p>Ethari squinted one eye. “Not that I don’t trust you, but I’m leaning toward no. Especially not if you try to show them to me over my teacup.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>31.</p><p>“Hello. A lovely night.”</p><p>Ethari studied the squirming bundle in Runaan’s arms. “Rayla seems to disagree.”</p><p>“I woke her up.”</p><p>“You could’ve let her sleep. I only walk with you because you’re walking anyway.”</p><p>Runaan’s steps slowed. “I didn’t realize.”</p><p>Ethari slowed to join him. “Have you been waking her much to come walk with me?”</p><p>“No, just tonight.”</p><p>A pause. “She’s growing up.”</p><p>Another pause. “I suppose this is our last late night walk, then.”</p><p>Ethari’s chest tightened with confused tension. “Tea tomorrow?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>They walked and walked, until nearly dawn. Rayla slept the whole time.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>32.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari. What are you working on today?”</p><p>“Buckles.”</p><p>“Buckles?”</p><p>“With knives in then.”</p><p>Runaan leaned on Ethari’s counter with interest. “Please tell me you have a prototype.”</p><p>Ethari grinned and reached under the counter. “For you? Always.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>33.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. That’s a lot of moonberries.”</p><p>“Rayla’s birthday is tomorrow.”</p><p>“Ooh. Moonberry surprise?”</p><p>“Moonberry surprise.”</p><p>“What’s the surprise this year?”</p><p>“I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”</p><p>Ethari chuckled. “I want to make her something this year. Is she allowed gifts?”</p><p>Runaan’s eyebrows rose. “From you? Always.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>34.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari. Do you have… I just need…” Runaan’s hands were fidgeting again.</p><p>“Runaan, what’s wrong?”</p><p>Those hands tightened into fists and vanished behind Runaan’s back. But even that hard pose couldn’t hold Runaan together. His voice broke. “My last mission…”</p><p>Ethari’s heart squeezed. “Oh, no. Let me make us some tea.”</p><p>“I… don’t want tea today.”</p><p>“I know. I’ll make it anyway. Come, sit down.”</p><p>But Runaan couldn’t move. Ethari had to guide him over and settle him in the chair. The assassin buried his face in his hands, and his tea got cold. After a very long time, he simply said, “It was my fault.”</p><p>Ethari studied Runaan’s expression. “Are you ever going to make that mistake again?” he asked softly.</p><p>“No. Never.” Runaan’s voice was cold, haunted.</p><p>Ethari nodded. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>35.</p><p>“Hello?” Ethari’s voice echoed down into the cave.</p><p>A tiny cry replied in the distance.</p><p>“You were right,” Runaan said. “He did come in here, after all. His parents will be very grateful. Half the town has been out looking for the past day. And you just sit there on your stool for two minutes and <em>deduce</em> where the lost boy must’ve gone? Amazing.” Runaan clasped Ethari’s shoulder warmly before darting down into the cave. He returned shortly with a very grumpy elfling lad in his arms and a broad grin on his features.</p><p>Ethari could feel that hand on his shoulder for the rest of the day.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>36.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>The assassin paused in the street. “Were we supposed to have tea today?”</p><p>“No, but…” Ethari’s fingers fiddled nervously.</p><p>“Ethari, what—?”</p><p>“Never mind, this was a bad idea.” Ethari whirled and lost himself in the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>37.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.” The assassin caught up with him in the crowd. Rayla rode his shoulders and hung onto his horns.</p><p>“Happy Blue Moon, Runaan, Rayla.”</p><p>“And to you as well. Rayla, say ‘Happy Blue Moon’ to Ethari.”</p><p>“’Abby Boo Moon!”</p><p>“Good girl. Will you walk with us, Ethari?”</p><p>“Of course.” But Ethari’s stomach was in nervous knots all night. It didn’t help that Runaan let his knuckles brush against Ethari’s not once, but twice, leaving the craftsman so flushed and flustered that he was sure his cheeks were glowing brighter than the blue Moon itself.</p><p>How he survived until dawn, he had no idea.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>38.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari was ready with a hot cup of tea. He pushed it into Runaan’s hands. “Runaan, please. What are you doing?”</p><p>“I’m having tea with you, like always.”</p><p>“No. what are you doing with <em>me</em>? You’ve been at it all year.”</p><p>Runaan took a steady sip of his tea and held Ethari’s gaze. “No idea what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Last year, you invited me to watch you train. Then you pushed me away, and the council gave you Rayla to take care of. Then something changed at Winter’s Turn, and you’ve been acting… different… toward me. Are you <em>trying</em> to get caught?”</p><p>Another sip. “At what?”</p><p>“You know very well what,” Ethari spluttered. “Assassins aren’t allowed to… you know.”</p><p>Sip. “To…?”</p><p>Ethari’s cheeks darkened, and he stubbornly refused to embarrass himself further.</p><p>Runaan’s smile was small, but smug. “Thank you for the tea. Excellent, as always.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>39.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.” Runaan’s warm breath ghosted from his lips in the crisp winter air.</p><p>Ethari wound up and threw a snowball toward Runaan’s head. “You’re late.”</p><p>The assassin shifted two inches to the left and watched it sail by. “Unavoidable. Unlike your snowball.”</p><p>Ethari fired another.</p><p>Runaan eased to his right and let it brush past his nose. “Your aim is very good,” he said.</p><p>“You’re infuriating.”</p><p>Runaan’s smile only broadened as Ethari threw more snowballs at him and missed. Ethari started throwing with both hands at the same time. Runaan only dodged more artistically, spinning in midair, landing a step closer to Ethari each time.</p><p>Finally, Ethari threw his last snowball. “Looks like you’re out of ammunition,” Runaan teased.</p><p>“Oh no,” Ethari said, grinning, “I have one last projectile.” He  took endless satisfaction in the look of utter shock on Runaan’s face when he tackled the assassin into a snowbank.</p><p>And then Runaan’s fingers curled into Ethari’s thick coat and held him tightly. His cheeks flushed moonberry red against the pure white snow that matched his hair and hid his horns. “You’d better do it now.”</p><p>Ethari looked into Runaan’s eyes, and he knew, he <em>knew</em>, and his heart stopped, and so did his breath. Time froze, crystallized.</p><p>Voices filtered through the trees. The moment was lost. Runaan shoved Ethari up onto his feet and closed those glorious turquoise eyes so Ethari wouldn’t see the hurt in them.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>40.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“Ethari.” Runaan kept his eyes on Rayla as she slashed at dandelion heads with her play sword, one of several assassin children playing in the breezy flower field. Winter had passed, and most of spring, since the two elves had spoken.</p><p>“Have you… been well?”</p><p>“I’m not dead yet.” He gave Ethari a long look and moved away.</p><p>Ethari nodded and moved along. But once he was out of sight of the other chaperoning assassins, a broad smile crossed his face. Only the living brushed their knuckles together under a blue Moon. Only the living tackled each other into the snow.</p><p>“I’m not dead yet, either.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>41.</p><p>“Hello again. I thought… Tea?”</p><p>Ethari smiled before turning to face Runaan. “I’ll heat the kettle.”</p><p>Runaan entered the shop and sat in his usual chair. “You’ve been designing new things, I hope?”</p><p>Ethari nodded, though his heart was pounding like a herd of wild horses. “It’ll take some time to show them all to you. I hope you’re free.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes leaped to meet Ethari’s and sparked with intensity. “I’ve never been free a day in my life. But I’ll come anyway.”</p><p>Ethari gasped. “That’s the nicest and most reckless thing anyone’s ever said to me.”</p><p>Runaan held Ethari’s gaze and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>42.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan—you’re soaked!”</p><p>“I noticed that, too.”</p><p>Ethari herded him over to the small stove in the back of the shop and sat him on a stool to get warm. “Is this <em>hail</em> in your hair?”</p><p>“See, your horn cuffs are still protecting me. Take that, prankster Skywings.” Runaan reached for the simple metal clasps in his hair and pulled them free with chilled fingers.</p><p>Ethari pressed a hot cup of tea into his cold hands. “Let me.” He took the hair ornaments and toweled Runaan’s hair dry while the assassin shivered by the stove. Then he sat behind him and combed it out as it dried, until it gleamed like silk. “You always take such great care with your hair, and it shows. It’s beautiful. A waterfall of moonlight.”</p><p>Runaan had managed to sit silently under Ethari’s skillful hands, but now he turned and looked at him with moonberry cheeks and molten eyes. “I’m not waiting this time.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart rate skyrocketed. “What?”</p><p>Runaan leaned over and kissed him, a velvet pressing of lips. Ethari let out a panicked gasp and fell off his stool, flailing. His hand caught in Runaan’s unbound hair, and the assassin yelped and toppled over onto him, catching himself on his hands. His loose hair floated around them like a silken net, sheltering the elves beneath it, nose to nose, sprawled on the floor.</p><p>Staring.</p><p>Breathless.</p><p> “I’m not waiting either.” Ethari pulled Runaan down for another kiss. Longer and more forceful, it dazzled Ethari’s senses and left them both gasping through eager smiles.</p><p>Runaan rested his forehead against Ethari’s. “Now I can die happy.”</p><p>Though Ethari’s heart soared at Runaan’s sentiment, he felt tears prickle the corners of his eyes. “Don’t you dare.” He cupped Runaan’s cheeks and pressed another warm kiss to the assassin’s lips. “Don’t you dare.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>43.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ears perked.</p><p>A pause.</p><p>Eyes locked across the room, yet no distance lay between them.</p><p>Smiles still full of secrets, but one fewer than yesterday.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>44.</p><p>“Hello. I made you something.”</p><p>Runaan paused in confusion at Ethari’s enthusiasm. “I didn’t ask you to make me anything, did I?”</p><p>Ethari’s expression flattened. “First Rayla, and now you. Does no one give you gifts?”</p><p>“Assassins live pretty communally—”</p><p>“Shh. That was rhetorical. Sit.”</p><p>Runaan sat. Ethari sidled up next to him and tenderly swapped his three hair clasps out for swirly-covered silver hair cuffs. His fingers lingered wherever he touched Runaan as he circled around him, working. When he finished, he handed Runaan an oval mirror.</p><p>Runaan took it, but his eyes sought Ethari’s reaction instead. “What do you think?”</p><p>Ethari’s response was a dazzling smile below softly blushing cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>45.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Hello.” Ethari’s gaze fell to Runaan’s new hair cuffs. He never took them off.</p><p>“I have another mission.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart squeezed. “Already?”</p><p>“No. During the next full Moon. I thought…”</p><p>Ethari stepped closer, eyes full of Runaan. “Yes.”</p><p>The assassin paused. “You don’t even know—”</p><p>“And I don’t care. My answer is yes.”</p><p>Runaan raised a white brow.</p><p>Ethari’s smile was smooth. “We both know what you came to ask me for, anyway.”</p><p>“We do?”</p><p>Ethari stepped close and pressed a hand against Runaan’s chest. “I’ll make you any weapon you like for your mission.”</p><p>Runaan’s smile glowed like the full Moon.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>46.</p><p>“Hello, your note said it was urgent?” Runaan shook off the rain as he stepped inside the shop.</p><p>“It is.” Ethari pressed him against the wall and kissed him hard.</p><p>The smells of hot metal and cold rain mixed and swirled, and the sacred hush that followed spoke volumes.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>47.</p><p>“Hello. I’ve brought your order.” Ethari stood with his hands clasping the bowblade in front of him.</p><p>Runaan cast a cool eye over him as the other assassins paused around the training yard to watch. In his expression, Ethari read the last three days’ worth of discussion and compromise. But a wary respect twinkled in the corner of Runaan’s eye, too. Ethari had convinced Runaan to let him enter the assassins’ compound under perfectly legitimate conditions: he’d made Runaan a truly exceptional, one-of-a-kind weapon, and Runaan would absolutely benefit from showing it off to his fellow assassins before his next mission.</p><p>The two elves stood close together as Ethari showed him the quick release in the handle. Runaan’s hands closed over Ethari’s. “Relax. I’ve got this.”</p><p>Ethari handed him a quiver of arrows. “I know you do.”</p><p>Runaan spun through a series of showy moves, flicking the twin swords this way and that. In midair, he reassembled the bowblade, drew an arrow, and struck the bullseye of a target across the training yard. Two more arrows followed before he landed, posing dramatically on one foot, his bowblade horizontal from loosing the last arrow.</p><p>Dead silence greeted him. Ethari’s wide eyes clung to Runaan’s poised figure.</p><p>“Does this mean the rest of us can stay home?” one of Runaan’s squad sassed.</p><p>As the other assassins chuckled appreciatively, Runaan lowered his new weapon and smiled. The warmth in his eyes told Ethari that he was reveling in sharing this moment with him, hiding their secret in plain sight.</p><p>He wasn’t the only one.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>48.</p><p>“Hello.” Said to a pile of ripe plums in the market.</p><p>“Did you get enough sleep last night?” Ethari asked, examining some mangoes.</p><p>“I’ll be fine.”</p><p>Ethari picked up a mango and checked it for soft spots. “That sounds like a no.”</p><p>“This is too soft.” Runaan set down a plum and brushed his knuckles against Ethari’s as he passed by. “Training comes first.”</p><p>Ethari was left staring at his mango unseeingly. “On second thought, I want plums,” he told the merchant.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>49.</p><p>“Hello. I brought you plums.”</p><p>Ethari looked up. “Not too soft this time?”</p><p>Runaan’s cheeks pinked as he hesitated. “Maybe I want soft sometimes.”</p><p>“You’re getting it out of your system before the mission.”</p><p>Runaan set the bag of plums down on the counter and captured Ethari’s chin with his fingers. “That too.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>50.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari could’ve cried from relief. Runaan was back from his mission. But when he looked up from his work, his eyes found a despondent elf slumping against the door frame. An elf who looked like he hadn’t slept since he left Xadia two weeks earlier. An elf who wouldn’t meet Ethari’s gaze.</p><p>Ethari’s heart clenched. “I’ll make some tea.”</p><p>Runaan only nodded.</p><p>In a whirlwind of effort, Ethari made tea, fetched corn cakes and dried fruit, and dropped a pillow atop Runaan’s chair for him. He sat the assassin down—Runaan always needed to be reminded to care for himself after missions—and paused, searching those turquoise eyes.</p><p>Runaan said nothing, but he clung to Ethari’s gaze.</p><p>Ethari rested a hand against Runaan’s cheek and met his eyes as steadily as he could. “I’m here, my shade. I’m here.”</p><p>Something in Runaan’s eyes broke, and he buried his face against Ethari’s neck, clinging to him, fingers knotted in the back of his shirt. Though Runaan didn’t make a sound, his hot tears soaked through Ethari’s collar.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>51.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan. I’ve been thinking.”</p><p>Runaan hooded his gaze. “Yes?”</p><p>A thick carpet of bright leaves crunched under Ethari’s feet as he joined Runaan on the path and began to walk beside him. “I think we need a post-mission plan. You always come back so detached and stressed, and if we can figure out what you need to—what? Why are you looking at me like that?”</p><p>Runaan had paused, feet drowning in red leaves. “I thought—”</p><p>Ethari turned and crunched his way back. When Runaan tensed, though, he stopped short. “You thought what?”</p><p>Runaan took a slow, steady breath, as if reassuring himself he could trust Ethari with his thoughts. “You still want to…?”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened. How could Runaan doubt him? Perhaps the assassin was carrying more stress than he realized—than either of them realized. Ethari lifted his chin, and he offered Runaan a warm smile laced with just a hint of sass. “As I was saying, if <em>we</em> can figure out what you need to reintegrate with the living, we can create our own little ritual. You shouldn’t have to bear the weight of your duty alone.”</p><p>He began walking again. Runaan lurched into motion and strode beside him, kicking slowly through the leaves. Ethari caught Runaan’s flashing smile and the moonberry flush across his cheeks, but he pretended not to notice.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>52.</p><p>“Hello. Happy Winter’s Turn.”</p><p>“And to you. And you, too, Rayla.”</p><p>“Happy Winter’th Turn, Ethari,” Rayla lisped as she rode Runaan’s shoulders. Light snowflakes dusted her dark stubby horns, and her eyes sparkled in the crisp night air.</p><p>“What do you think of the snow, Rayla?” Ethari asked.</p><p>Rayla looked up into the low clouds with an eager smile. “It’th the athes of Garlath the Annihilator’th enemieth!” she proclaimed, jabbing a tiny fist into the air.</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened, and he only just managed to keep from laughing aloud. His eyes sought Runaan’s, and to his delight, the assassin was chuckling helplessly.</p><p>“Storytime’s been good lately, I see,” Ethari managed, hiding his grin behind a hand.</p><p>“You have no idea,” Runaan assured him. “Every night is Garlath night.”</p><p>“I want an Ethari thtory tonight, Runaan,” Rayla blurted. “Garlath and Ethari!”</p><p>Ethari blinked in surprise, but Runaan’s eyes held steady on Ethari’s face. “As you wish, little shadow. An Ethari story tonight.” A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.</p><p>Ethari was glad the darkness hid the flush in his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>53.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari nearly jumped out of his skin as he closed up the shop. “Runaan! You startled me.”</p><p>Runaan stepped out of the shadows. “I didn’t mean to. I… wanted to ask you…”</p><p>Ethari knew Runaan’s hands were fidgeting even in the dark. “You can ask me anything, Runaan. What is it?”</p><p>Runaan took a brave breath. “Can I… see your house?”</p><p>Ethari’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, I admit I didn’t see that coming.” He started walking down the street. “Of course you can see my house. Why the change of heart?”</p><p>Runaan fell in beside him. “Change of heart?”</p><p>Ethari stopped abruptly and grasped Runaan’s forearm. Of course he’d known that Runaan lived a communal life with the other assassins in the compound. Of course he knew that. But somehow, he’d never registered the fact that Runaan didn’t have a home of his own, and therefore he had never truly grasped the notion that Ethari <em>did</em>. “Oh. Oh, Runaan, I’m such a fool. I’m so sorry. Come with me, right now.” He dragged Runaan with him the few blocks to his small home and led the way inside, uncovering softly glowing crystals to give off plenty of light inside the front room.</p><p>Runaan stood and stared like a happy child seeing his first snowflakes. He took in Ethari’s messy front table, laden with parts of six different projects. The papasan where Ethari sometimes took naps when he was too tired to walk all the way to bed. Remains of at least two meals: stems and cores on plates. Soft white arching beams leading to a point overhead. Ethari’s endless swirly doodles in the plaster, interspersed with phases of the moon, embedded with crystals and winking bits of silver, forming dozens of tiny images. Doorways beckoned to two other rooms beyond, but Runaan stood in the main room, smiling, and just <em>stared</em>.</p><p>Ethari began to feel very self-conscious. “…Runaan?”</p><p>Runaan’s bright gaze finally centered on Ethari again. “And you have this space all to yourself. No one else lives with you in this whole house?”</p><p>Ethari let out a soft scoff. “Who else would put up with this mess?”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes drifted up the decorative walls again. If Ethari didn’t know better—and he didn’t—he’d have guessed Runaan was having a deeply spiritual moment. “I would.”</p><p>Instead of checking whether Runaan realized he’d said that out loud, Ethari gently pushed Runaan into the papasan and said, “I’ll make some tea.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>54.</p><p>“Hello.” Runaan grinned brightly as Ethari opened his front door.</p><p>“Runaan, you’re early.”</p><p>“You have a nesting pair of pigeons in your eaves. I can shoo them away if they’re bothering you. And I brought you something.” Runaan held out a blue glass carafe with a peaked lid.</p><p>“You reconnoitered my roof? Of course you did.” Ethari accepted the carafe and sniffed appreciatively. “Moonberry juice? Are you sure you’re allowed to take this much outside the compound?”</p><p>“It’s my allotment. I can do what I want with it.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes widened, and he hesitated, torn. “I shouldn’t… this is for your missions—”</p><p>Runaan took him by the shoulders, backed him inside, and nudged the door shut with his foot. “Shh now. I know what I’m doing.”</p><p>“Which is what, exactly?”</p><p>Runaan pressed Ethari against the wall and kissed him thoroughly. His mouth tasted of fresh moonberry juice. When Ethari was literally whimpering for mercy, Runaan slid the carafe from his sweaty fingers and set it on a nearby table. “I’m making sure you remember me with every sip. A mission came up suddenly. I leave tonight.”</p><p>Ethari tasted Runaan and moonberries on his tongue, a heady blend not soon forgotten. “T-Tonight?”</p><p>Runaan smiled. “You weren’t busy today, were you?”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>55.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“Runaan.” Ethari set down his paintbrush. “You’re back already.”</p><p>The assassin had simply appeared in Ethari’s front room. No doors had creaked, no windows unlatched. Runaan had not been there one moment, and the next, he stood in the doorway. An aura of death clung to him.</p><p>Ethari glanced around and grabbed his little red pot of paint. Slowly, he approached Runaan and offered it with his paintbrush. “You feel like you have blood on your hands. Why don’t you paint it there? Then I’ll help you wash it off, and that can be a part of our ritual.”</p><p>With shaking hands and dead eyes, Runaan accepted the pot and brush. But instead of dipping the brush in and painting his skin bright red, he dropped the brush and tipped the pot over his head, draining the deep crimson across his hair and face. It ran across his nose markings, soaked his hair thick and dark, and streaked and splattered its way across his clothes.</p><p>Ethari stood in shock and took in the sight of Runaan drenched and dripping with red. “Is… is this truly how you feel, Runaan?” he whispered.</p><p>Runaan’s face drew tight, as if he might cry, and it froze there, in agony. He dropped his eyes and buried his face in his hands, sinking to Ethari’s floor with a long, groaning sob.</p><p>“Runaan, I’m so sorry—” Ethari began, sinking down beside him, hands out to hold him.</p><p>“Don’t touch me,” Runaan muttered. “Not like this.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart twisted. “I <em>will</em> touch you, and I’ll wash you clean, just like I said I would. Come with me. You’re not in this alone anymore.”</p><p>Runaan lifted his head then. His eyes were dark and dull, but they focused on Ethari like a drowning elf’s.</p><p>Ethari reached for Runaan’s hand and led him to the bath. He gently washed Runaan clean of the paint and the effects of his mission, wrapped him in soft blankets, made him tea, fed him berries, and talked lightly of his day until Runaan drifted off to sleep against his shoulder.</p><p>Seeing Runaan sound asleep, with his face relaxed and at peace again, fulfilled a deep instinct in Ethari’s soul. He left a soft kiss on Runaan’s drying hair. “Welcome back, my shade.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>56.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“Sugarplum.”</p><p>Ethari blushed. “What did you call me?”</p><p>Runaan chuckled and tossed Ethari a sugarplum from his shopping basket. “They’re for Rayla, but I got a few extra.”</p><p>“In case you just randomly ran into me in the market today?” Ethari asked wryly.</p><p>But Runaan’s sunny smile would not be dimmed. “I always buy extra in case I just randomly run into you in the market, Sugarplum.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>57.</p><p>“Hello, Tink.”</p><p>“Runaan, hi. You need more arrowheads today, don’t you?”</p><p>“I—yes.” Runaan’s brows drew together for a moment, puzzled.</p><p>Ethari grinned. “Disconcerting, isn’t it, when someone knows something about you that you thought they couldn’t possibly know?”</p><p>“…No.”</p><p>Ethari leaned his elbows on the counter. “An honorable assassin, lying through his pretty teeth?”</p><p>Runaan’s cheeks pinked. “It’s not a lie, not if it’s you.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>58.</p><p>“Hello.” Runaan interlaced his fingers with Ethari’s as they met atop the sun-drenched hill. The warm breezes of summer morning teased through their hair, promising a hot day.</p><p>“Summer’s Turn is tomorrow,” Ethari said. “I wish you didn’t have duties. I’d love to walk the festival with you, like we do in the winter.”</p><p>“I know.” Runaan squeezed Ethari’s hand. “But today is just for us. I don’t have to share you with anyone.”</p><p>Ethari stepped close and captured Runaan’s left hair cuff in his fingers. “May I?”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes widened, and then so did his smile. Ethari slid his hair cuffs free and worked his fingers through Runaan’s braid until it hung loose. The bright breeze danced through Runaan’s glistening locks, enveloping them both in the scent of Runaan’s hair.</p><p>“You’re beautiful,” Ethari said. He strung the hair cuffs on a chain around Runaan’s neck and let his fingers rest on the cool metal.</p><p>Runaan captured Ethari’s cheeks and kissed him. “I love all the ways you free me.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>59.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.”</p><p>The golden days of summer rose and set, lighting their love like a blazing sunset. Before he met Runaan, Ethari hadn’t believed that such euphoric bliss was possible. But that summer, Ethari became a romantic.</p><p>Deep down—deep <em>deep</em> down—so did Runaan.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>60.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.”</p><p>Ethari nearly dropped his basket of folded clothes. “Runaan, how did you get—?”</p><p>Runaan merely smiled and patted the bed next to him.</p><p>“You’re right. I should know better than to ask how you get into places.” Ethari set down his basket and snuggled up with Runaan. The quiet bliss of the cozy bedroom seeped into his skin, and Runaan’s silent warmth with it. “How long do you have?” Ethari whispered.</p><p>“How long do you need?” Runaan murmured in his ear.</p><p>Ethari turned his head and gave Runaan a long, lingering kiss. Against his lips, he whispered. “Forever and ever.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>61.</p><p>“Hello.” Runaan was fidgeting.</p><p>“When do you leave?” Ethari asked gently.</p><p>“Three days.”</p><p>“It’s already snowing. Will you be all right out there?”</p><p>“Of course.” Runaan’s easy reply made Ethari wonder what kind of weather he’d experienced during his training. “I wanted to ask you…”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Runaan’s grin was soft and lopsided. “You still don’t know what I’m asking.”</p><p>Ethari slid his hands over Runaan’s and stilled their anxiety. “It never matters what you’re asking, Runaan. My answer is and always will be yes.”</p><p>Runaan held Ethari’s gaze for a long, long moment. Then he leaned his forehead against Ethari’s and closed his eyes. “I carry you in my heart.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>62.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari?”</p><p>Ethari looked up at the unfamiliar voice. The Moonshadow in his shop was dressed like an assassin, and his face was grave.</p><p>Ethari’s heart nearly stopped. “What happened?”</p><p>“Come with me.”</p><p>On instinct, Ethari grabbed a small bag of fiddle projects as he headed out after the assassin. They walked to the edge of town, then outside into the forest. A small cabin came into view after a short trek. The whole journey took place in silence, with Ethari afraid to ask, and the assassin remaining tight-lipped.</p><p>On the cabin’s covered porch, the assassin held open the front door. “Stay as long as you like. Healers will be in now and again to see him.” With a direct look and a short nod, the assassin headed back to town.</p><p>Ethari clutched his bag like a talisman and stepped inside. A healer stood across the main room, her back to him, and mixed something with a mortar and pestle. Without looking up, she said, “First door on your left.”</p><p>“Will you tell me what happened?” Ethari asked.</p><p>The healer didn’t turn. “Nothing happened. I’m not here, and neither are you. We don’t know each other’s faces, and it’s going to stay that way. And there’s definitely not an assassin fighting for his life in the <em>first room on your left</em>.”</p><p>With his heart in his throat, Ethari bolted to the door and rushed inside the room.</p><p>A cot lay beneath a shuttered window, and slats of light and shadow marked their way down Runaan’s supine form. He lay still, too still. His bare torso was swathed in layers of bandages, and it rose only lightly with every breath.</p><p>Runaan’s hair spilled across his pillow, unbound, unwashed, with thick locks of it stained rusty red.</p><p>His hand lay palm up, open and relaxed, at his side. It seemed too empty, as if the assassin should be holding something to combat his desperate situation. A sword. A dagger. Ethari’s hand.</p><p>The soft cry that slipped from Ethari’s mouth fell behind as he darted forward and knelt at Runaan’s side, clutching that empty hand, pressing its back against his cheek.</p><p>“Runaan, Runaan, I’m here. I’m staying.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>63.</p><p>“Hello.” Runaan’s voice was a weak whisper, but it was the first sound he’d made in two days.</p><p>Ethari stirred next to him on the bed, where he’d curled up under a blanket and rested a hand across the front of Runaan’s shoulders to reassure himself that his beloved kept breathing. “Runaan. Thank the Moon.”</p><p>“I missed you,” Runaan continued. “I thought I was calling for you. Maybe I wasn’t.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart spasmed. He leaned closer and pressed his forehead against Runaan’s temple. “I came anyway. I’m here.”</p><p>Runaan slowly shifted his hand until he could take Ethari’s. His grip was weak and cool.</p><p>Ethari let his warmth seep into Runaan’s skin. “I’m here.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>64.</p><p>“Hello. Did you sleep?”</p><p>“A little.” The crease in Runaan’s brow revealed his pain.</p><p>“I brought some warm water. You could use a wipe-down. And I want to wash your hair.”</p><p>“I’ll do it myself.”</p><p>“You can’t even sit up.”</p><p>“I’ll need the practice. No one else is going to take care of me back at the compound.”</p><p>“Runaan… you’re not going back to the compound yet. You’re outside the village. I don’t understand all your assassin rules, but they’ve settled you here to recuperate, and they brought me to you. I’m going to take care of you. That’s all I want to do.” Ethari smiled softly and leaned in.</p><p>“Don’t make me tell you to get out, Ethari.” Runaan’s voice was low and distant.</p><p>Sudden hurt flooded Ethari’s chest. His eyes fell to Runaan’s bandages. <em>Of course. He hasn’t seen the wounds yet. And he wants to be alone when he does.</em></p><p>“I understand. Of course.” But when Ethari reached the hall, he leaned against the wall and let hot, silent tears seep from his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>65.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>“I’m right here, Runaan.” Ethari strode into Runaan’s room with a bowl of broth. “I’m glad to see you awake—”</p><p>Runaan gripped Ethari’s wrist, nearly making him spill it.</p><p>Ethari slid the broth onto a table and sat on Runaan’s bed. “What is it, my shade?”</p><p>“I need to apologize. I was… I thought I drove you off. And that would have been a grave tactical error on my part, because Ethari… I need you.” Runaan’s eyes were wide and soft, with a new vulnerability Ethari had never seen before.</p><p>“Runaan, you <em>have</em> me. I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>“And you have <em>me</em>… if you still want me… but you should see what you’re getting now.” Runaan’s hand ghosted across his bandages.</p><p>Ethari’s eyes locked onto Runaan’s hand. His lower lip trembled, but he firmed it and met Runaan’s eyes. “Show me, then.”</p><p>Runaan peeled back his bandages slowly, one layer at a time, until the livid, uneven slash across his chest was exposed. The skin was still healing over, an angry red, its edges swollen and torn. Runaan looked away, unable to stand waiting for Ethari’s reaction.</p><p>Ethari gasped and reached out, gently brushing Runaan’s skin near the top edge of his wound. “Moon and shadow, Runaan. How are you still alive? This could’ve cut you in two…” The sudden realization that this very wound could’ve left Runaan dead on the cold ground in some distant land shook Ethari’s soul. He pressed his palm against Runaan’s cool skin and leaned forward. Tears stung his eyes as he bent down and pressed the softest of kisses against Runaan’s side.</p><p>“Ethari…”</p><p>“Shh.” Ethari kissed Runaan’s skin again, further along the edge of the near-deadly wound. And then again. He hovered gently over Runaan, careful never to press hard, and kissed his way beside the entire length of the terrible gash and back up along its top side, too.</p><p>By the time he was finished, Runaan was trembling. He stared up at Ethari, lost and amazed and overwhelmed. “How can you—” he began.</p><p>Ethari stopped his question with a kiss against his lips. This one wasn’t gentle.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>66.</p><p>“Hello. What do you think you’re doing with my hair?” Runaan looked over from his sickbed at the long white ribbon of hair Ethari held. His voice was stronger than it had been in days.</p><p>Ethari looked up from his braiding and displayed the end of Runaan’s hair. A loop in the very end of the braid circled around itself, creating a slip knot. Ethari tucked his wrist through the braid and pulled gently, tightening Runaan’s silken hair around his arm like an assassin’s binding ribbon.</p><p>Runaan’s cheeks flushed moonberry red. “Don’t tease me like this… not sure my heart can take it…”</p><p>Ethari pulled gently on the braid as if climbing a mountain with a rope, until he hovered over Runaan, nose to nose. “What makes you think I’m teasing?”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>67.</p><p>“Hello. I’m glad to see you haven’t forgotten the way to my bedroom.” Ethari grinned and headed toward Runaan, who was just slipping in over the window sill. “Settled back in at the compound all right?”</p><p>“No. I missed you this morning.” Runaan held his arms out, and Ethari melted into his embrace.</p><p>“Don’t say it, Runaan.”</p><p>
  <em>Nearly dying was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. It gave me those liminal weeks with you. When I wasn’t an assassin and you weren’t a craftsman. When we could be together every day. When I could wake next to you like an ordinary elf with an ordinary love. When I could imagine forever with you.</em>
</p><p>Runaan didn’t say it. But he squeezed Ethari extra tight and held him close until nearly dawn.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>68.</p><p>“Hello, Rayla. Isn’t it almost your birthday?”</p><p>“Yep!”</p><p>“Turning four is a big deal. A whole handful of years. What do you want for your birthday this year?” Ethari asked, though his smile was for Runaan, on whose shoulders she perched.</p><p>“Moonberry surprise!”</p><p>“Then you shall have some. Anything else?”</p><p>Rayla locked her little arms around Runaan’s forehead. “I… don’t wanna say. Maybe I’ll get it without asking.”</p><p>Ethari raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Runaan shook his head. “She won’t tell me, either.”</p><p>“It must be a really big secret if you won’t even tell the two elves who always get you birthday presents,” Ethari said.</p><p>But Rayla shook her head with a seriousness beyond her years. “It’s really not. Not to me, anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>69.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.” Ethari smiled at the familiar shadow that fell across his shop floor as the door opened. A second shadow followed it in, though. Another of Runaan’s assassins.</p><p>“Ethari.” Runaan’s face was all business, but his eyes twinkled.</p><p>“What can I help you two with today?”</p><p>“Knives need sharpening.” The other assassin set a heavy bundle on the counter.</p><p>“And perhaps,” Runaan added, “a custom design? The bowblade you made for me saved my life last winter, and now Branneg is interested in some daggers that can do the same for him one day.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes danced. “Let me fetch a target and my sketchbook.”</p><p>Branneg tossed daggers at Ethari’s target, and Ethari studied his technique and sketched ideas as they came to him. But Runaan stood behind him the whole time, easing his fingers up under the back of Ethari’s shirt and pretending he wasn’t. Ethari had to concentrate like he never had before in order not to give away Runaan’s reckless flirting. Though the effort left him sweaty and breathless, he managed to stay on topic and present Branneg with enough design options for the assassin to choose his favorite.</p><p>And then Runaan left with him. But as he pulled the shop door closed, he offered Ethari a knowing smile.</p><p>Later that night, Ethari yanked Runaan through his window, dropped him on the bed, and paid him back for his wild behavior at the shop. As they dozed off together afterward, Runaan lay with his head on Ethari’s chest, and Ethari played with Runaan’s hair. “Serves you right, Runaan.”</p><p>“It does, but not the way you think.”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>Runaan’s sleepy chuckle was smug. “Branneg knows. All my assassins know.” Ethari’s gasp was pressed quiet by Runaan’s fingertip against his lips. “They’ve known since last winter.”</p><p>“And they won’t speak against you? Against us?”</p><p>Runaan’s smile was a soft blend of affection and regret. “They know, but they do not see. If they cannot see, there is nothing to speak against.”</p><p>“You trusted me with everything you hold dear today, didn’t you?” Ethari breathed.</p><p>“You’ve earned my trust, Ethari. And you showed remarkable restraint in your shop.  But thank you for tackling me tonight. I enjoyed it very much.”</p><p>With a lovingly exasperated growl, Ethari tackled Runaan again.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>70.</p><p>“Hello, Rayla. Did you get what you wanted for your birthday?”</p><p>Rayla shot an uncertain look up at Runaan, then looked back at Ethari. “It was okay.”</p><p>“That sounds like a no. Is there something I can make you? All you ever have to do is ask.”</p><p>Rayla looked at the damp market street and dug her toe into a bit of mud. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”</p><p>“Please let me know if I can help. I am at your service, little moonblossom.”</p><p>Her smile was tentative and sad. Runaan let his shoulder brush slowly past Ethari’s for a moment, and then they continued on down the street.</p><p>Ethari’s brow furrowed, and he let out a sigh as he studied Rayla’s boot print in the mud.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>71.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari looked up with a bright grin. “Runaan! I didn’t think I’d—”</p><p>A second, shorter figure followed the assassin into the shop.</p><p>Ethari slowed, but his smile softened. “Rayla. Welcome! I’m glad Runaan let you come along today.”</p><p>“Actually, she let <em>me</em> come along,” Runaan said.</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“I know what I wanted for my birthday.” Rayla’s voice was firm.</p><p>Ethari dropped to one knee before her and leaned his elbow atop it. “Tell me, then. What can I make you?”</p><p>Somehow, that question didn’t seem to fit what Rayla wanted to say. Her face struggled through a few expressions before settling. “What’s the first thing Runaan asked you for?”</p><p>Ethari’s gaze flicked up to Runaan’s face. The assassin’s smile was reminiscent.</p><p>“A sword,” Runaan said.</p><p>Rayla nodded firmly. “I want a sword too.”</p><p>Ethari’s chest swelled with affection. “I can do that.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>72.</p><p>“Hello! Come in, it’s freezing outside.” Ethari swung his door wide and let Runaan and Rayla traipse past him, shaking snow from their hair and horns. Rayla set a basket on Ethari’s messy table and stripped off her mittens. She held her hands out toward his fireplace, cheeks glowing with cold.</p><p>Behind her, Ethari took the big tin of cookies from Runaan’s hands and pressed a warm kiss against his chilled lips. Runaan leaned in for a bare moment before pulling back. His eyes flickered with regret. “Rayla’s been learning about assassin ways this past month,” he said. “Our communal lifestyle, our commitment to our missions and each other.”</p><p>Ethari read between the lines. Rayla knew Runaan couldn’t marry. Couldn’t have romantic connections, lest they distract. The weight of a new caution settled hard in his chest like a lump of cold iron.</p><p>Despite the chill in Ethari’s heart, the trio enjoyed a festive Yule afternoon, exchanging gifts. Ethari gave Rayla a set of practice throwing knives. She gave him a potted turquoise rose. He accepted it with soft, curious hands.</p><p>“It’s a pretty color,” was all she said.</p><p>Ethari closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the rose’s cool, clean scent. “It sure is.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>73.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“Ethari.”</p><p>“Will I see you tonight?”</p><p>Runaan looked away. “No. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“I miss you.”</p><p>Runaan wrapped Ethari’s last finger with his own and squeezed. “I miss you too.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>74.</p><p>“Hello again, Rayla. Welcome, Runaan. What can I help you with today?”</p><p>Rayla’s purple eyes were troubled as they roamed the walls of Ethari’s shop. “I want something. At least, I think I do. Runaan said I should just ask you for it. But I don’t see it here.”</p><p>Ethari knelt in front of her again. “Whatever you need, little moonblossom, I’m happy to make for you.”</p><p>Her eyes studied him seriously. “But what if the thing I want you to make is… bad?”</p><p>Ethari looked up at Runaan in surprise. The assassin knelt as well. “Nothing Ethari makes is bad, Rayla.”</p><p>Her little brows lowered in concentration. “No, I mean. If I want a bad thing, will you still make it for me?”</p><p>“Bad things can hurt people, Rayla. I try not to make bad things.”</p><p>“But…” she grimaced, thinking extra hard. “The good things you make hurt people, too.”</p><p>Ethari rested a warm hand on her shoulder. “There’s a difference between hurting bad people on purpose and hurting good people on accident. Right, Runaan?”</p><p>Runaan nodded.</p><p>“I... A hair clasp,” Rayla said. Her fingers twisted together, reminding Ethari of Runaan’s fidgeting. “My hair’s getting long.”</p><p>Ethari smiled and pretended not to notice her nervous change of heart. “I can do that.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>75.</p><p>“Hello, stranger.”</p><p>Runaan held out his arms silently, and Ethari melted into them. They curled up on Ethari’s bed and snuggled close. Neither spoke for a long time.</p><p>“Something’s bothering Rayla,” Runaan finally said. “She won’t speak of it. But I know she’s sad.”</p><p>“Are you sure she wants to come visit me? She always seems uncertain.”</p><p>“She’s very insistent, until she talks to you. I think I need to socialize her more, but my training schedule is very busy.”</p><p>“Let me. I’ll be happy to take her for a few hours here and there. She can meet all manner of folks just by staying in the shop with me. Or if it’s in the evening, I can take her around to meet my neighbors.”</p><p>Runaan went still. “I couldn’t ask…”</p><p>“You never have to. My ‘yes’ is a standing answer now. Please, just tell me when you need me. I’m always here for you.” Ethari pressed a kiss to Runaan’s forehead. “Always.”</p><p>To Ethari’s surprise, Runaan’s chest shuddered, and he clung tightly to Ethari’s powerful shoulders, burying his face against Ethari’s neck. Ethari rolled onto his back, pulling Runaan with him, and soothed his hands along Runaan’s back. “You just leave all that with me, alright? Just set it down and leave it here. I’ve got you.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>76.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.”</p><p>“Runaan. Rayla.” Ethari took a bracing breath and knelt in front of the little elfling. “What can I help you with today?”</p><p>Rayla’s face was taut with emotion. “I want something. I don’t know what it looks like. But I know how it makes you feel.”</p><p>“How does it make you feel?”</p><p>Somehow that was the wrong thing to say. “No,” Rayla growled. “I don’t know how it makes <em>me</em> feel!”</p><p>She whirled and ran outside. Runaan shot Ethari an apologetic glance and headed after her.</p><p>They didn’t return.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>77.</p><p>“Hello, happy birthday!” Ethari grinned sunnily and invited Rayla and Runaan inside.</p><p>Rayla’s tentative grin brightened the room. But when she turned back to face him, her expression was intense. “I’m excited for my party, Ethari. But I’ll have to keep it secret from the other assassins. They wouldn’t understand.”</p><p>“I won’t tell,” he promised.</p><p>She giggled. “I know <em>you</em> won’t. You’re good at keeping secrets.”</p><p>“Maybe I am. I’ll never tell,” he teased.</p><p>Rayla tried on a winning smile. “Not even if I ask for one secret for my birthday?”</p><p>“Well, that depends on whether it’s my secret to tell,” he said.</p><p>Her face clouded. “You can’t tell me someone else’s secret?”</p><p>“That wouldn’t be very nice. And it could even be dangerous.”</p><p>Something very big and very important seemed to occur to Rayla just then. After staring for a moment, she took his face in her little hands and kissed his cheek. “I think I understand now. Thanks, Ethari.”</p><p>Rayla enjoyed her party, but something in her seemed to grow up that day. A little piece of her childhood got folded into a box and put on a shelf, and she never opened it again.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>78.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>“Out for a walk?” Runaan circled Ethari slowly. “All alone on this fine warm autumn day?”</p><p>“As are you.”</p><p>Runaan’s last finger found Ethari’s and encircled it. “Then perhaps we can be alone, together.”</p><p>“I’d rather be together, alone.”</p><p>Runaan’s finger tugged Ethari deeper into the woods. “I’d rather that, too.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>79.</p><p>“Hello… I need…” Runaan trailed off. He was shaking, dusty, and splattered with someone else’s blood.</p><p>Ethari didn’t even blink. “Then come in and let me help.”</p><p>Ethari hummed softly as he washed Runaan clean and soaped up his hair. After Runaan was dry and snugged in comfortable blankets, Ethari murmured of light things as he pressed a cup of tea into Runaan’s trembling hands and fed him berries. Later, he stroked the assassin’s back and felt his breathing slowly even out into sleep.</p><p>Runaan woke just before dawn, still snuggled against Ethari’s side. He sighed deeply and tucked an arm over Ethari’s chest.</p><p>“Runaan?”</p><p>“Hm.”</p><p>“Does Rayla know where you go after missions? Why you don’t return with the others?”</p><p>“No. Why?”</p><p>“Do the others have rituals like this? To relax and refresh?”</p><p>Runaan tensed. “You think I should stop coming to see you.”</p><p>Ethari’s arm spasmed around Runaan’s back. “Never. I… I hope she’s not worried for you, is all.”</p><p>Runaan let out a deep sigh. “It’s almost dawn. I’ll head back before she wakes.”</p><p>“Please stay.”</p><p>A soft kiss. A regretful press of the forehead. “You know I can’t.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>80.</p><p>“Hello. Is it too late?”</p><p>Ethari opened his eyes and saw Runaan silhouetted against the late moonlight that poured across his window sill. He held out a hand and tugged back his blankets, and Runaan eased down beside him with a soft whimper.</p><p>Later, Ethari held Runaan tight and stared up into the darkness with tears edging his eyes. “I think it is too late,” he breathed.</p><p>The way Runaan <em>didn’t</em> immediately react told Ethari that he’d been thinking it, too. He let out a slow sigh. “We’ve been fighting this for over a year now. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want any of this to hurt. But it is, isn’t it? I’m making you cry.”</p><p>“No, you’re not,” Ethari protested, as hot tears slipped over his cheeks.</p><p>Runaan’s lips found Ethari’s tears in the dark and kissed them away. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Ethari squeezed Runaan tight. “It’s not your fault I fell in love with you. And it’s not you that’s making me cry.”</p><p>They held each other tightly until the sky lightened, neither daring to sleep, nor to let go. They both knew it would be their last night together.</p><p>Only after Runaan had kissed him softly, lovingly, and slipped out into the dawn did Ethari realize the assassin had silently eased his horn cuffs off and left them behind in the tangled sheets.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>81.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Runaan wouldn’t meet Ethari’s eyes. His back stiffened, and he fiddled with the bunch of purple carrots in his hands. Ethari reached out on instinct. Runaan shut his eyes and turned his head slightly as if bracing for pain instead of a soft touch. Ethari’s fingers flinched back.</p><p>“Please don’t do this,” Ethari pressed.</p><p>Runaan’s reply was a broken whisper. “You know why we have to.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyes found Runaan’s bare horns. Runaan looked younger, vulnerable, without them. No longer married to the job. “That’s not what I meant.”</p><p>Runaan’s turquoise gaze flickered to Ethari, then away. Its usually bright edge was dull with guilt.</p><p>“I brought them. Take them back and put them on. If you take a direct hit to that horn on a mission, you’ll…”</p><p>Runaan looked away. Started to leave.</p><p>“Don’t make me say it. Runaan. I <em>will</em>.”</p><p>Runaan took three steps into the market crowd, leaving Ethari behind with his hurt and his loss and a heart full of too much love and nowhere to give it.</p><p>Ethari sucked in a deep breath and tasted his own doom. But he couldn’t stop himself. His voice boomed across the market, and every elf in earshot lurched to a halt.</p><p>“<em>Coward</em>!”</p><p>Runaan whirled and stalked back to Ethari. One hand clasped his throat and drove him backward against a nearby smooth-trunked tree. His face tightened into a hard mask, eyes sharp as swords. Ethari clutched at Runaan’s wrist, his own eyes fiery. The market area emptied swiftly around them.</p><p>Runaan’s voice was a dagger slipping from its sheath. “How <em>dare</em> you.”</p><p>“You can step away from me, Runaan. I’ve let you go. But I won’t watch you tempt fate like this. If you take a strike to that horn, you could die. And you’re <em>welcoming</em> that. You’re running from what you feel. Running all the way to death. If you really can’t handle leaving me, then <em>find another solution</em>!”</p><p>“There <em>isn’t</em> one!”</p><p>Ethari seized Runaan’s shirt front and jerked him closer. “There’s always something. You just haven’t looked hard enough!”</p><p>Runaan’s fierce expression faltered.</p><p>Ethari let go suddenly, and his hands hung in the air, numb. “You haven’t been looking at <em>all</em>.” Tears sprang to his eyes, and they tried to look anywhere but at Runaan.</p><p>It was Runaan’s turn to seize Ethari by the shirt. He checked him sharply against the tree. “There are <em>rules</em>, Ethari.”</p><p>“And you’ve been breaking them. Why stop now?”</p><p>Runaan’s words hissed between his teeth. “You <em>know</em> why.”</p><p>The hurt fury in Ethari’s heart swirled uncertainly. “Rayla.”</p><p>“<em>This</em> is why they gave her to me, Ethari. So I could teach her the rules of being an assassin.” Runaan’s gaze flickered with self-doubt. “So I’d enforce them on myself as an example.”</p><p>Ethari clenched his jaw. “You beautiful <em>idiot</em>. Your whole squad knows about us, and they agreed to keep it secret. They know you. They trust you. But you’d hurt me, and confuse Rayla, and attempt suicide-by-mission, just to follow the rules some council handed down to you?”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes blazed at him in hot fury. But he said nothing. Not a word.</p><p>A strange tendril of something cool and fresh and new uncurled in Ethari’s gut. Had he struck his target? “You’re a Moon-dimmed fool, Runaan.”</p><p>“Curse you,” Runaan breathed as he pulled Ethari’s face down for a passionate kiss.</p><p>Ethari lost himself in Runaan’s intensity for a long while. He opened his eyes, gasping, and found himself with his hand fisted in Runaan’s hair. Their eyes met, longing and troubled and desperate. “Take the horn cuffs. You love Rayla. You’ll need them to live for her. And I’d much rather that, than you dying for me.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes never left Ethari’s as his fingers closed around the soft pouch Ethari offered. The horn cuffs clinked gently inside it.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>82.</p><p>“Hello, Ethari.”</p><p>Ethari turned sharply. “Rayla! It’s so nice to see you—”</p><p>Runaan lurked near the door of the shop. His horn cuffs were in place. He didn’t look over.</p><p>Ethari’s heart flailed madly for the space of a breath, and he gritted his teeth for a moment before he could speak again. He forced his eyes back to Rayla and leaned on his counter with a gentle smile. “What can I make for you today, little moonblossom?”</p><p>“I drew you a picture of what I want.” Rayla slid a square of paper onto the counter.</p><p>Ethari picked it up and studied it. His eyebrows climbed to his hairline and his eyes darted to Rayla.</p><p>Her purple eyes were intent, her mouth set firmly. “Can you do this for me? It’s really important.” Her gaze drifted  toward Runaan for a moment before locking onto Ethari again.</p><p>Ethari read the words she’d written. Studied the sketches she’d made. His workshop faded away into a moonlit eternity. He felt like he was standing outside of time itself. With breathless wonder, he breathed his reply. “Yes.”</p><p>Rayla’s hopeful smile shone like the Moon.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>83.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>Ethari stumbled to a halt in the middle of the secluded path and looked up. Runaan crouched on a branch overhead, but he leaped lightly down and landed in front of Ethari. “Walk with me a moment. I wanted to tell you something.”</p><p>“Alright.” Ethari fell into step beside the assassin.</p><p>Runaan tucked his hands behind his back. “I did as you suggested, after we… <em>talked</em>… in the market. I’ve been living for Rayla. And… I’ve told her why.”</p><p>Rayla’s visit to Ethari’s shop suddenly made more sense. But her instructions had been very clear, so he simply said, “I was wrong, then. You’re not a coward. I’m sorry I called you out like that. You were hurting, just like me.”</p><p>“I deserved it. Only one of us was trying to die to escape his problems.”</p><p>Ethari chuckled lightly.</p><p>Runaan let his fingers brush against Ethari’s. “You’ve been good for me, Ethari. I owe you my life many times over. And…” Runaan took a deep breath and looked away. “You will always have my heart.”</p><p>Ethari turned and took Runaan by the arm, halting him. “It’s my greatest treasure. But I can’t walk with you this way anymore, Runaan.”</p><p>Runaan banked the fires of love in his eyes, muting them to a dull, reminiscent glow. “I understand.”</p><p>Ethari dropped his hand. “I don’t think you do.” He headed back the way he’d come.</p><p><em>Not yet</em>.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>84.</p><p>“Hello, Runaan.”</p><p>Ethari’s heart was nearly pounding out of his chest. His sweaty palms slicked the box he held. The sky overhead was darkening rapidly. And Runaan had showed up.</p><p>Ethari had no idea how Rayla had managed it. But she had.</p><p>“Ethari, what—” Runaan looked around the tiny clearing. Rayla stood tall on a boulder. Ethari stood just next to it with his hands trembling around a fine wooden box. The lunar eclipse hovered overhead, its totality swiftly approaching. He should’ve been at the village green with the others. They’d notice his absence. “Rayla. What are you doing?”</p><p>She pointed imperiously to the grass just in front of Ethari. “Stand there. We don’t have a lot of time.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes tracked the shadow of the earth’s progress across the face of the Moon overhead. His face gave nothing away as he stepped closer, taking his mark. “Would you care to explain yourself?” he asked her.</p><p>She set her arms akimbo. “Yes, I would. I’m seven now, and I know a lot more than I did when I was little. Ever since I can remember, you two have been around me, smiling and talking and stuff. None of the other assassins do that with anyone, not like you do. I didn’t know what that was. I thought Ethari was just extra special somehow.”</p><p>Ethari blushed. Runaan’s eyes widened.</p><p>Rayla continued, “Then I learned about assassin life, and how we’re not supposed to fall in love. It took me a long time to understand what that was: falling in love. I didn’t know I’d been seeing it all my life. And I was confused and upset, because how could someone as nice as Ethari make Runaan want to break the rules?”</p><p>Ethari frowned sadly, and his ears drooped. And it was Runaan’s turn to blush.</p><p>“And then…” Rayla’s voice faltered, and she checked the eclipse overhead. “Then you stopped spending time together anymore. And instead of making you happy, Runaan, following the rules seemed to make you sad. And you never really <em>stopped</em> being sad.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes found Ethari’s. The silent truth of Rayla’s words radiated between them. Ethari set his box on the rock and reached out with both hands, and Runaan took them, squeezing hard.</p><p>Rayla continued. “When you told me that you’d left Ethari so you could be a better example of a good assassin, Runaan, it felt… wrong. You’d been happy with him. You trained the others well. You were careful on your missions. You always had the best weapons, too. And you know what I realized?”</p><p>The two of them looked up to Rayla as she stood on her rock.</p><p>She rested her little hands on their shoulders and spoke gently. “You’re a better assassin with Ethari than without him.”</p><p>Runaan squeezed Ethari’s hands tightly. Longing overtook him, and his whole body leaned toward Ethari as a moonflower finds the moonlight. With every iota of his being, he knew Rayla was right.</p><p>The last sliver of light left the Moon’s face overhead. Rayla glanced up again, then at the elves she’d spent so much of her young life with. “I used the library archive after you told me you were leaving Ethari, Runaan. I thought I could help if I could find something… something like Luna Tenebris’s Judgment Under the Half Moon.”</p><p>“You did research… willingly?” Runaan blurted.</p><p>Rayla’s expression was a perfect mirror of Runaan’s when he was focused. “Shh. We have to hurry. I found something. Moonshadows live by the cycle of the Moon. You taught me that. Everything we do, we do in its light. Right?” She pointed overhead. “<em>Except for the next six minutes</em>. Right now, the Moon can’t see us. It can’t see <em>you</em>. And you can do whatever you want. That’s why everyone gathers together on the village green during eclipses, right? So they don’t get suspected of sneaking off to get around the biggest and oldest rule of all. But look. You both sneaked off when I asked you to. You both want something outside the rules. And you know what? I think you deserve it. Because you’re better together. You’re <em>stronger</em> together. So you deserve to <em>be</em> together. And that’s what I have to say. Ethari, open the box.”</p><p>With trembling fingers and breathless anticipation, Ethari let go of Runaan’s hands and opened the box, holding it up for Rayla and Runaan to see.</p><p>Two pairs of gleaming horn cuffs nestled amid velvet fabric. One was heavily reinforced and covered in curling designs. The other was simpler, adorned with a sword’s point and a turquoise gem apiece.</p><p>Runaan gasped and covered his mouth with a shaking hand. His wide-eyed gaze flew to meet Ethari’s, then up to Rayla’s, then up to the silent Moon.</p><p>Then back to Ethari. “Marry me, then,” Runaan blurted. “Here in the dark of the Moon. I want you to be my family.” He reached over and squeezed Rayla’s little hand. “Both of you.”</p><p>An ecstatic sob burst from Ethari’s lips. Rayla needed no further prompting. Her lithe fingers lifted one of each pair of horn cuffs, and she held them out like little crowns. “With these cuffs,” she recited, “you are bound together, linked forever, with a chain that none can break. If the Moon wishes otherwise, then it can speak up now.”</p><p>Everyone froze for the tiniest moment. But the Moon had no comment.</p><p>Rayla snickered. “I didn’t think so. So accept these cuffs as a sign of your bond, and let no one’s arcanum speak against you.” The other elves dipped their chins, and she slid the cuffs onto their horns at the same moment. Then she repeated the action with the other two cuffs. “What happens in the eclipse, stays in the eclipse. And what the Moon doesn’t know won’t hurt it.” She squinted skyward again. “Now hurry up and kiss. The light’s coming back any second!”</p><p>Ethari pressed the box into Rayla’s hands and reached for his husband with tears in his eyes. Their lips met, and their arms encircled one another. Urgent whispers filled the air between ardent kisses, and within moments, Runaan was crying, too. They clung as if they’d been separated for a hundred years. They clung as if they’d never been apart.</p><p>The Moon’s light swept across the land once more and found the elves still embracing, still confessing their undying love, still apologizing for imagined sins. And it smiled down on them with all the light it had ever given them, for in their hearts, not a single thing had changed. And that was all that mattered.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>85.</p><p>“Hello, you two.” Ethari’s eyes sparkled as he opened his door and looked out into the bright morning light at Runaan and Rayla. They each bore a single pack of belongings, an assortment of weaponry, and a smile as broad as the sky.</p><p>“Hello,” they chorused.</p><p>Ethari’s heart sang. “Welcome home.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>86.</p><p>“Hello.” A sleepy kiss.</p><p>“Good morning.” A gentle snuggle.</p><p>A happy sigh. “I could get used to this.”</p><p>A soft chuckle against white hair. “You’d better. You married me last week.”</p><p>A hesitant hitch of breath. “I keep waiting for the council to realize they’ve made a grave error. To tell me to come back to the compound. Or worse.”</p><p>Ethari kissed Runaan’s forehead and smoothed his long white hair back from his face. “It’s been three days since they handed down their decision. You set them in quite a flurry, walking back to the village green holding my hand and sporting shiny new wedding cuffs after the eclipse passed. I don’t think they ate for four days straight. I <em>know</em> they didn’t sleep. I heard they raided the library archive for every single book they could find on this topic. And then they told you…?” he prompted.</p><p>Runaan spoke quietly, afraid the world might shatter the illusion if he challenged it. “They told me it stands.”</p><p>“And here you are in my bed again. Properly wed this time and everything.” He pressed Runaan flat and leaned up on an elbow, fingers tracing the edge of Runaan’s face and up along his ear. “Don’t worry, my heart. I know this is still so very new to you. An unlooked-for life. But this—right here, with you—is something <em>I’ve</em> always wanted. And I’ll stand with you every step of the way.”</p><p>Runaan brushed an unruly lock of Ethari’s hair out of his eyes and smiled. “What if I’m not standing?” he murmured.</p><p>Ethari hummed in delight. “Then I’ll do that with you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>87.</p><p>“Hello, husband.” Said nose to nose in the garden.</p><p>“Mmm. Husband.” Murmured against lips.</p><p>The pair broke into soft giggles and leaned into each other’s arms. But Runaan clung more tightly, and Ethari heard his breathing hitch.</p><p>As his fingers dug into the back of Ethari’s shirt, Runaan whispered against his husband’s neck. “Is this real?”</p><p>“Oh, Runaan. <em>My heart</em>.” Ethari held him with reassuring strength and ran a soothing hand along his back, feeling Runaan’s need and hope and fear in the way he crumpled Ethari’s shirt and hid his words in near-silence. “<em>This is real</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>88.</p><p>“Hello, you two.” Runaan settled onto the back porch next to Rayla as she and Ethari watched the full Moon rise over the village roofs. “How’s the light tonight?”</p><p>“Loud.” Rayla grinned at each of her dads in turn and held out her hands to them. Ethari clasped one of them, and Runaan took the other.</p><p>The moonlight soaked into them and rippled across their arcanum, connecting them deeply and softly. All light was light, but three lights together was truly a bright spot in Runaan’s heart. A glowing sense of peace flooded Runaan, and he glanced at Ethari over Rayla’s head. The craftsman smiled back at him, radiant and soft.</p><p>“I’m so glad you’re my parents now.” Rayla’s voice was warm and full, and her eyes drank in the rising Moon. “I never thought I’d have any at all. But I suppose I came from somewhere, right?”</p><p>“We all did, Rayla,” Runaan assured her. “And now we’re here. Together.”</p><p>“Do you think my birth parents are still out there somewhere?” Rayla asked wistfully.</p><p>“Of course they are,” Runaan soothed. He squeezed her hand. He’d never found his birth parents. Didn’t know if they knew who he was, what he did, or how happy he’d become. But Rayla’s birth parents deserved to know that their little girl was doing well. And a box high on a shelf in his brand new bedroom was slowly filling with letters as proof that they did.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>89.</p><p>“Hello. Rough day? You need a bath.” Ethari kissed his husband at the front door.</p><p>“I could soak these bruises for hours.”</p><p>Ethari covered his chuckle with his hand. “Yes, for the bruises, too. I’ll get it started.”</p><p>Runaan took an obvious sniff and grinned. “Says mister fire and brimstone. Are you sure you’re not a Sunfire? I should check. Thoroughly.” Runaan took Ethari by the waist and began nibbling softly against his neck.</p><p>Their murmuring laughter was interrupted by a grumpy voice from the front room. “Moon and shadow, can’t an elfling get a little privacy? I have homework!”</p><p>As Ethari tugged Runaan toward the bath, the assassin spotted Rayla glaring from her seat at the table. The speed of Ethari’s insistent pull toward the corner of the hall flared Runaan’s sweaty ponytail out behind him, but he attempted a stern parental stare and an imperious point before he was towed out of sight by his chuckling husband. “Language—”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>90.</p><p>“Hello up there! How’s it going?” Ethari held a hand up against the blazing light of morning.</p><p>On the roof, Runaan knelt next to a cluster of broken tiles and paused before replacing another in a neat line. The crisp morning air was full of light and joy. The village bustled into motion around him. People walked the streets together and played and worked and stood close and got to know each other. Their casual interactions never ceased to amaze him. Assassin life had been militaristic and regimented. “Casual” had no home in the compound. But here, with Ethari, Runaan found several ways to enjoy letting down his guard.</p><p>Rayla had taken to their new life amazingly well over the last two years. Somehow she’d managed to blend assassin training during the day with a cozy home life at night, and she had no trouble switching between the two.</p><p>Runaan figured he’d never find the transition as smooth as she did. He was older and set in his ways. But Ethari continually surprised him with opportunities for softness. And Runaan never turned those down. He hoped to spend a long lifetime learning how to balance hard and soft with Ethari.</p><p>He smiled down at his husband. Ethari’s morning hair was tousled, and he held two mugs that steamed in the cold air. Silently, the craftsman held one up on offer.</p><p>“It’s going very well, Ethari,” Runaan responded. He rose and made his way to the lower edge of the roof, hopping down to join him. He accepted his mug and took a long sip of hot, strong tea. “I can’t imagine it going any better.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>91.</p><p>“Hello, newly promoted assassin leader. Should I bow?” Ethari teased as he met Runaan at the side of the podium in the village green.</p><p>Runaan chuckled and settled his hands on Ethari’s arms. “Please don’t. That ceremony was all the pomp and circumstance I need.”</p><p>Ethari tucked his arm through Runaan’s and reached out for Rayla’s hand as she shyly approached. “Then it’s family as usual. Got it.”</p><p>“Yes, please, my heart.” Runaan leaned his forehead against Ethari’s.</p><p>“Congratulations, Runaan,” Rayla offered. “You deserve this. You’re the best assassin ever. And someday I’ll be just like you.”</p><p>Runaan dropped to one knee in front of Rayla and looked up at her. “I think you might just be better than me one day, little shadow.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>92.</p><p>“Hello. Walk with me?” Runaan slipped his hand into Ethari’s and pulled him toward the forest path.</p><p>Ethari strolled happily in silence with Runaan until they were deep in the woods and the village was a mile out of earshot. When Runaan stopped by a moss-covered stump wider than they were tall, Ethari felt a smile steal across his face. He swung Runaan into his arms and murmured, “Aren’t we getting too old to be trysting on mossy stumps?”</p><p>A smile teased its way along Runaan’s lips. “Never. I plan to live for at least another hundred years, now that I have you in my life, Ethari. And I also plan to tryst with you on mossy stumps as often as you’ll let me.” Their lips met, and Runaan backed him up against the edge of the broad stump until it smacked him behind the knees.</p><p>Ethari’s hands were full of Runaan’s shirt as he toppled backward, dragging the assassin down with him. The pale green moss cushioned their fall, and a few grumpy mice squeaked their displeasure before fleeing the stump.</p><p>“A hundred more years with you sounds perfect.” Ethari’s face radiated love.</p><p>Runaan ghosted his fingers along Ethari’s cheek, turquoise eyes glowing, and glossed a thumb along Ethari’s lower lip. “It’s a date, then.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>93.</p><p>“Hello, what can I get you?” Ethari asked gaily as he heard his shop door open behind him. He stood on tiptoe atop a sturdy box and reached up to hang a new display axe on his shop wall.</p><p>“My husband down safely, for starters,” Runaan’s voice sassed.</p><p>“Oh!” Ethari twitched in surprise and barely managed to set the axe handle in its cradle with his fingertip before he lost his balance and fell off his box.</p><p>Runaan hurried forward and caught Ethari’s back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his husband and skidded against his heavier weight until they both collided gently with the side wall, next to a display of daggers.</p><p>They checked each other over with practiced hands and found no harm done. Then Runaan chuckled and said, “And I have a second request, too.”</p><p>Ethari squinted at him. “I think you helped yourself to that first one, but go on.”</p><p>“Swords.”</p><p>Instant concern. “Did something happen to your bowblade?”</p><p>“For Rayla.”</p><p>Ethari stepped back. “Runaan, she’s twelve.”</p><p>But Runaan only nodded. “That’s our way.”</p><p>Ethari’s eyebrows bent. “Runaan…”</p><p>“You give her the tools, and I give her the skills. Together, we’ll keep her safe.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t take her on a mission yet, would you? She’s far too young.”</p><p>Runaan was instantly reassuring. “No, of course not. Not for years yet. I promise.”</p><p>Ethari filled his chest with a deep, steadying breath. “I’ll make her the best swords in Xadia.”</p><p>Runaan’s eyes brightened. “We can give them to her together.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>94.</p><p>“Hello, my shade. She’s found them, just so you know.”</p><p>Runaan looked down at Ethari’s big hand against his chest, preventing him from stepping into the house just yet. “Who’s found whom?”</p><p>“Rayla. Her birth parents. Did you know? Did you know who they were all this time?”</p><p>Runaan’s gaze hovered and then dropped. “I… found out. Years ago. I needed to know if they…”</p><p>“If they’d come for her?”</p><p>“If they loved her,” Runaan finished. He looked past Ethari’s shoulder into the house, seeking sight of Rayla. “Babies are given away for many reasons. But her parents gave her away out of duty. They loved her very much. And they still do.”</p><p>Behind Ethari, Rayla stepped into view. Her hands were full of letters. The letters of gratitude that Rayla’s parents had sent to Runaan. “You wrote to them, Runaan? You wrote to my parents?”</p><p>Runaan slipped past Ethari with a soft kiss on his cheek and a comforting squeeze against his shoulder. “I did, and I do. They serve the Queen of the Dragons, and there’s no room for an elfling in the Storm Spire. But they deserve to know how you are faring, little shadow. Their sacrifice was of the highest honor, and if even a short note from me addresses their concerns and fills their hearts, then I couldn’t keep that from them.”</p><p>Rayla launched herself at him and threw her arms around his waist, squeezing hard. Runaan rocked back and caught her in a tight hug. Ethari pressed a supportive hand against his lower back and smiled encouragingly.</p><p>Runaan managed a deep breath. He looked down at Rayla and carefully hid all trace of his apprehension. “Would you like to write to them when I send my next letter?”</p><p>The stars in her eyes shone so brightly that a little piece of Runaan’s heart broke.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>95.</p><p>“Hello…”</p><p>Ethari’s head jerked up at the sound of Runaan’s hesitant voice.</p><p>Rayla poked her head around the doorway from the kitchen down the hall. “Runaan? Runaan!” She rushed forward at the sight of him, dusty and bloody and back a day earlier than they’d expected, but Ethari stopped her, stepping between them.</p><p>“I’ll take care of him. You take care of the rest of the cleaning.”</p><p>Rayla’s wide violet eyes remained pinned to Runaan’s face.</p><p>Ethari didn’t dare turn around. He knew exactly how hard Runaan looked when he came home from bad missions. He pivoted Rayla on the spot and walked her back to the kitchen. “Please. I can take care of him. I need you to keep working out here.”</p><p>Rayla spun and grabbed Ethari’s wrist before he could return to Runaan. “Is he always like this after missions? I’ve never seen him when he comes home before.”</p><p>“Not always. Please, Rayla, I’ll explain later. I can’t leave him like that.” Ethari pried his wrist free and hurried back to his husband. With soft hands and softer murmurings, Ethari coaxed Runaan into the bath and washed him clean. A set of heavy bruises marked Runaan’s side and shoulder, and Ethari gently worked lambra salve over them before wrapping Runaan in a fluffy robe and combing his hair out to dry. Once it was smooth as silk, he settled Runaan in his arms on their bed and handed him a cup of tea.</p><p>Runaan sipped absently and leaned his head against Ethari’s. “Did I scare her?”</p><p>“Rather the opposite, I think.”</p><p>“Thank you for caring for me, Ethari. Every time. You always know what to do to put me back together.”</p><p>Ethari held a moonberry in his lips and pressed it against Runaan’s with a kiss. As his husband accepted the fruit offering, Ethari murmured, “It’s my privilege to care for you, Runaan. Every time.”</p><p>A soft knock at their door interrupted them, and Rayla poked her head through the doorway. Her eyes took in Runaan’s vulnerable state, curled up in Ethari’s arms with his hair damp and loose. “I just… wanted to make sure you were alright, Runaan.”</p><p>Ethari scrambled for something to say, but Runaan replied right away. “I’m not. That’s what this ritual is for. When it is done, then I’ll feel more myself. But I’m not there yet, little shadow.”</p><p>Rayla absorbed that for a moment before it clicked. “I understand. Sorry to interrupt. Sorry, Ethari.” And she closed the door again.</p><p>Runaan let out a long, easy sigh and rested his temple against Ethari’s, sinking back into his relaxation.</p><p>But Ethari felt a worm of distress begin to turn in his heart. If Runaan, leader of the assassins, with all his hardness and his killer instinct, needed a ritual to reintegrate himself into daily life after bad missions, what more would Rayla need? And what would it cost him to give it to her?</p><p>Runaan dozed off soon after, and Ethari held him close and listened to his even breathing. But he didn’t sleep.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>96.</p><p>“Hello. You’ve heard too.” Ethari paused in the doorway, hands shaking.</p><p>Runaan’s face was stone. “I have.”</p><p>Ethari rushed forward, reaching for Runaan. “What do we do, my heart? She only knew them for a few years, and now this... this <em>betrayal</em>. She’s going to be devastated. What do we do?”</p><p>Runaan took Ethari’s hands and stilled them with a firm grip. His eyes were sword points. “What we must.”</p><p>“But Runaan… they’re her <em>parents</em>.”</p><p>Runaan’s voice held an oddly insistent note. “<em>We’re</em> her parents, Ethari. She still has us. And we will never betray her.”</p><p>Wide-eyed, Ethari shook his head. “Never.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>97.</p><p>“Hello, little shadow.” Runaan spoke gently, letting Rayla know he was behind her, while Ethari hovered in the background, hands knotting in distress. “We were worried when we couldn’t find you after the ritual.”</p><p>Rayla didn’t seem to hear Runaan over the sound of her own weeping. He glanced back at Ethari, who gestured for him to move closer. So he reached out hesitantly, resting a light hand on her shoulder. At his first touch, Rayla whirled and threw her arms around him, sobbing heartbrokenly against his chest.</p><p>Runaan glanced at Ethari for help, but Ethari clapped a hand over his mouth, too drawn into Rayla’s devastated feelings. His brows bent and his eyes overflowed, and he shook his head softly.</p><p>Runaan shifted his focus back to Rayla and held her tightly. “You’ll always have us, Rayla. You’ll always have me. They put you in my arms fifteen years ago. I’m never letting you go, and I’m never turning my back on you. You’ll always have a home with me, no matter what.”</p><p>She nodded against him, and he smoothed her hair until she cried herself out. When he asked Ethari that night why he hadn’t joined them in their hug, Ethari said only, “This was about Rayla. I didn’t want you to have to steady me, too.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>98.</p><p>“Hello, Moon to Runaan, what in Garlath’s many names are you thinking?” Ethari’s fist made a dent in the dark blue dough he was kneading.</p><p>Runaan tucked his hands behind his back, retreating into formality. “She needs this, Ethari.”</p><p>“You can’t take a fifteen-year-old child on an assassin mission, Runaan.”</p><p>Runaan lifted his chin. “She’s not a child.”</p><p>“She is!”</p><p>“She’s been training for this all her life, Ethari. She’s ready.”</p><p>“She’s nothing of the sort!” Ethari’s fingers dug into the dough, and it squeezed out between them in uneven lumps. “Runaan, please. Don’t do this.”</p><p>“Ethari. It’s decided. The council has approved it.”</p><p>“You asked <em>them</em>, but not <em>me</em>?”</p><p>Runaan blinked. “I…”</p><p>Ethari’s expression set. “I see.” He smacked the thick dough onto the counter and stalked away.</p><p>Frustrated, torn, Runaan started after him, but then he let him go. Rayla needed to restore her parents’ honor, and Runaan was the only elf in Xadia who could give her the chance to do so. Ethari was precious and soft, but this time—<em>this one time</em>—he couldn’t be right. He <em>couldn’t</em>. Because if he was, then Runaan wouldn’t be able to give Rayla what she needed. And he wanted <em>so very badly</em> for Rayla to need him.</p><p>He’d deliberately <em>not</em> asked Ethari first. He’d chosen Rayla’s happiness over his husband’s. <em>This one time</em>. Surely the Moon would be kind.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>99.</p><p>“Hello, you two. You look perfect.” Ethari sized up Rayla and Runaan in their assassin gear as they stood together in the front room. The smile they shared nearly melted all the ice in his heart.</p><p>“Go on out with the others, Rayla,” Runaan said. “I need to farewell my husband before the lotus ritual. The others just tease me if I do it where they can see.”</p><p>Rayla giggled. “I swear to the Moon, you two kiss more than every other couple I know. You’d be a disaster without each other. It’s a good thing I found that eclipse ritual buried in the archives.”</p><p>“It sure is,” Ethari said.</p><p>She kissed Ethari’s cheek in farewell. “I’ll see you in a few days. Promise.”</p><p>Once she left, Runaan and Ethari gravitated together and stood holding each other closely, leaning their foreheads together. “I’m sorry I can’t make you understand how important this is to me,” Runaan murmured.</p><p>“But I <em>do</em> understand,” Ethari replied softly. “I know your heart better than you do, my shade.”</p><p>“Then you do approve?”</p><p>Ethari sighed and closed his eyes. “I worry.”</p><p>Runaan hugged him more tightly. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted in life, Ethari, and more. Love, family, the ability to serve well. I’ve never been happier in my <em>life</em> than I am in this moment.” He pulled back and met Ethari’s sunset eyes. “And I have it all because of you. You arm me, you inspire me, you steady me. You have made me who I am today. Every time I part from you, my heart, I fight to return to your side. Today will be no different.”</p><p>An emotional chuckle burst from Ethari’s lips. “It better be different. You bring Rayla home, Runaan. No matter what.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, my heart. She is my top priority, after the mission itself. I <em>will</em> keep her safe. I promise.”</p><p>And then, it was time for the lotus ritual.</p><p>And then, Ethari’s hard-won family was off into the night.</p><p>And then, disaster. Chaos. The assassin compound in uproar over four lost lotuses.</p><p>And then, Runaan’s lotus sank, too.</p><p>And then.</p><p>And then.</p><p><em>And then</em>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>100.</p><p>“Hello…” Ethari’s face swam into view. Runaan realized he was lying on his back, somewhere cold. But Ethari was already helping him sit up and draping a blanket across his bare shoulders.</p><p>Runaan blinked up at him. His husband looked older, tired. Other faces ringed him at a distance, wearing concern and joy. Rayla. And Callum, the young princeling Runaan had nearly shot, who had gone with her to return the egg. They were older, too. And… there was something else about them… but it didn’t matter right then.</p><p>Runaan’s gaze found his husband again. His constant, the one he had always relied on and returned to. His anchor. His heart.</p><p>Ethari had tears in his eyes, but they were tears of joy. Runaan raised a wondering hand to touch one as it ran down his cheek. Its warmth made him gasp. He met Ethari’s eyes again.</p><p>
  <em>Is this real?</em>
</p><p>Ethari’s hands framed Runaan’s face, and their warmth seeped into his skin. The breath of his ecstatic smile brushed against Runaan’s cheek. “My heart. This is real. I’m here.”</p><p>Runaan’s brows lifted, and his breath caught.</p><p>Ethari was real. After all this time. Ethari was finally real.</p><p>Runaan smiled, and his eyes overflowed.</p><p>“Hello.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>